This is the Big Star I remember from my childhood. This photo was taken in Augusta GA in 1978, and was sent to me by Groceteria reader Terry in Oklahoma. He’s in the process of sending me an absolutely amazing archive of photos he’s taken over the years, including this Colonial store in Atlanta from 1978:
More to come…
We all have our fetishes related to vintage stores, I guess. One reader is particularly interested in floor tiles, while a few others are fascinated by various HVAC components. A big one for me has always been the front entrance. I get really excited when I find an old store that still has its original door configuration, and especially so when it has its original doors, as does this former Colonial store on North Main Street in Columbia SC. I was obsessed with old doors when I was a kid and was first looking at — and drawing pictures of — old stores.
Here’s another one from my Saturday road trip, located on Harden Street in Columbia’s Five Points area. I’m not sure what it was (Columbia is definitely a future research candidate) but it sure is pretty.
Maybe I’ll add a “doors” feature to the site one of these days.
This beauty from the 200 block of East Front Street in Burlington NC, just a few blocks from Blanche Taylor Moore’s Kroger, undoubtedly started life as a Big Star about 1938 or so. A lot of variations on this prototype were built in the southeast in the late 1930s, and a good proportion of them have held up remarkably well. The craftsmanship and materials are a stark contrast to the cheap stucco effects on most new chain stores.
I’m also guessing the building to the left was a 1940s A&P, but I’ll save that for another post.
Also from this weekend’s long drive:
I’m saying with maybe 60% certainty that this building from downtown Yanceyville NC once housed an A&P.
This Family Dollar on South Scales Street in Reidsville NC was definitely something, probably an A&P as well, but I’m not sure. It also looks like it may have expanded into a neighboring (but built at the same time) adjacent storefront.
Courtesy of Mike, this photo of the spooky, abandoned A&P offices in Paterson NJ shows label scars from at least two different versions of the A&P logo.
From Robby Delius, an interesting TV news shot of an early 1980s Big Star in Durham NC highlights the chain’s Grand Union era makeover.
Lots of updates today. I’ve reworked the following pages and added entirely new galleries with lots of new photos. This is part of my effort to standardize the format of all the store and city features (and to add new photos):
To match the format of the newer city features, I’ve added full location spreadsheets in the following sections. This should make it easier to track locations over time. Updated location lists are:
More to come.
